You’re a Real Person Now!
At 20 years old, Yakiana is working hard to regain stability for herself and her one year old daughter. She came to Families Moving Forward with her mother and sisters when they lost their housing and moved to the area. Quickly she and our case managers recognized she needed to find her own place where she could learn and grow independently as a mother.
We were able to get her into a supportive housing unit and in October she was able to move into her very first apartment with her daughter. The work did not stop there though. In her first weeks in the apartment Yakiana learned how to complete her first money order to pay rent, how to submit a maintenance request for a broken washer, how to turn on and pay electricity bills, and many more firsts. This will be a long journey of learning and growing, but because she is stable Yakiana has been able to enroll in school and will receive her high school diploma in June 2018.
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A few weeks ago, Yakiana and her case manager applied for her daughter’s first social security card. Leaving the office Yakiana jumped up and down saying excitedly, “You’re a real person now! You’re real!” Every step toward self-sufficiency is a celebration of achievements for this young mother and her daughter.
